'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' Late Review

Cross Creek Pictures

I must confess, I had no interest in watching this movie when it came out. Hence, the very, very tardy review of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. 

It still sounds a bit ridiculous if I'm to be perfectly honest. To think that someone concocted the idea of transforming Jane Austen's beloved characters into zombie fighters is incredible to me. But it worked.

The casting of Lily James as Elizabeth Bennet and Sam Riley as Mr. Darcy or Colonel Darcy are spot on. This is a much better Elizabeth than Anna Maxwell's casting for Death Comes to Pemberley in my humble opinion. Ms. Maxwell is an excellent actress, just not the right Elizabeth. Doesn't have the dark eyes that Austen mentions and Darcy falls in love with. 'She's tolerable, but not handsome enough...'.

Lily is perfect for the role, she's kick ass with her fighting and very beautiful. Actually, prettier than her sister Jane (Bella Heathcote) in this case. Her personality is also in tune with the character from the novel. Feisty, sassy.

Cross Creek Pictures

Sam Riley plays a good Mr. Darcy. He is handsome and does the brooding thing very well. I liked him in the role. I also liked that we see a Darcy that is more active with all the sword fighting and horseback riding.

Since Austen writes from Elizabeth's perspective, we miss a lot about what Darcy is doing while he is not present for different events. We can only guess and many fiction writers have done just that.  It's a fascinating topic to think of all the things that were happening with Darcy.

I was disappointed this story didn't include Colonel Fitzwilliam nor did it explain how Darcy became a Colonel himself. There are a lot of holes in the plot and the dialogue seems a bit forced at times, especially when the script inserts the classic lines from the novel.

My favorite scene was the failed proposal when Elizabeth starts to throw anything she can get her hands on at arrogant Darcy. Their fighting is sexy. You can tell he's trying to remain a gentleman, but she's tough as nails, so he gives up.

Sam Riley and Lily James in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Cross Creek Pictures)

George Wickham (Jack Huston) is okay. Not as dashing as the character in the novel. Don't forget, he was very handsome. As handsome as Darcy or more so. Didn't find him charming or handsome. Casting fell flat on that choice.

I did like Charles Bingley (Douglas Booth). He's sweet, handsome and a bit childish. I think Bingley has a purpose in Jane Austen's novel. He is Darcy's conscience when it comes to inferiority and doesn't have a backbone. Of course he comes from trade, so he's Darcy's inferior.

The plot is interesting and even though I'm not a zombies person, I enjoyed seeing the women kick the men's ass. I can totally see Elizabeth taking up arms like that. As I previously stated, I enjoyed watching Darcy be a kick ass too.

I really liked how the did the scene in which Elizabeth reads Darcy's letter explaining his role in separating Bingley and Jane, and the story about Wickham. They added his ardent love declaration which was a nice touch and made her see that he still cared, even after she fought him. It hit her like a ton of bricks.

Of course, the best scenes are the ones in which she goes chasing after him. She already knows she loves him and he went to rescue her sister, so now he's in danger. The battle of London is raging and the bridge will be blown off to stop the zombies.

Darcy has to take care of Wickham before he can get to safety and her, but she comes to him first. Sigh. The scene on the bridge is so romantic and for a moment I thought the script writers had killed Darcy. No!!

Cross Creek Pictures

It was a relief to see him show up again at Lady Catherine's home in Rosings and oh the declaration. It was perfection. Sam made me fall in love with Darcy all over again. Thank you for giving us a kiss and wedding.

I still haven't forgiven you, Joe Wright, for not giving us that little bit. Seriously?

I'm happy that I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, even if it's two years after the release. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars, mostly based on the plot and forced dialogue.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Review

I didn't know what to expect with Mamma Mia! 2 (Here We Go Again) I imagined the plot would expand on Sophie's (Amanda Seyfried) story and what her life is like after moving away with her former fiance, Sky (Dominic Cooper). What more could you add to the story with ABBA songs?

Apparently a lot. The timeline is confusing, to say the least, and I was lost for most of the first-hour wondering who this young girl (Lily James) is. The movie starts with Donna arriving late for her graduation speech, as the valedictorian at Cambridge. Instead of giving the usually dull speech to classmates and parents, Donna breaks into song, and everyone joins. Lily James is engaging and grabs the audience's attention from the start. Then we see Sophie getting ready for the grand opening of this gorgeous hotel on top of the mountain where Donna's (Meryl Streep) modest lodging was in the original Mamma Mia!

She looks sad as she remembers the past and her now deceased mom. That was unexpected. The decorations are beautiful as Sophie feels bittersweet about having hundreds of people for the special event, but after a sudden storm destroys all the preparations so carefully laid by hotel workers, it seems like no one will be able to make it. They closed the airport in Athens, Sophie bitterly announces to Sam (Pierce Brosnan). Her two other dads won't be able to come due to previous obligations. A high-stakes contract negotiation for Harry (Colin Firth) and an award ceremony for Bill (Stellan Skarsgård). She's devastated and heartbroken.

To make matters worse, Sky, who has been in New York City learning all he can about running a hotel, has been offered a permanent job that he can't turn down. She thinks they are over.

In the meantime, we learn the story of young Donna. The way in which the script presents the backstory is unusual and original. It's like having a prequel and a sequel all in one movie, but it can be very confusing. My first thought is that young Donna is Sam or one of the other dad's daughters. Slowly, as the plot unravels and she starts meeting three handsome men in different parts of Europe, it becomes clear that the girl is repeating the original story or she is a young Donna.

The plot has some holes especially when it comes to the sequence of events and what the timeline is. There are significant inconsistencies between the backstory and how old the characters are. That's the bad part. The good part is that the music is contagious, especially for those of us who enjoyed ABBA when we were younger. You will hear many of the same songs, but who cares, they are favorites, and you can listen to them over and over. There are some new songs, and Amanda Seyfried sings several of them. She is quite good. I was very impressed with Lily James. She is gorgeous with her long, wavy hair and eccentric outfits. Also has a good singing voice.

It was great to see the same characters from the original Mamma Mia! and, particularly, to look at the guys dancing and singing. I think Colin Firth is my favorite. Perhaps because he is Mr. Darcy. It's hilarious to see him singing and having a good time. I still think Pierce Brosnan is a terrible singer though.

In summary, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again was enjoyable and didn't disappoint despite some inconsistency in the timeline and character backstories. I would give it a 7 out of 10. The movie is playing in theaters now.

David Oakes | The Trials of Juan Borgia

Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello | MAGIC MIKE

Some eye candy courtesy of Collider ! They have published fifty three new high resolution images of Magic Mike, starring Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer and Matthew McConaughey.

Magic Mike is the story of a stripper (ChanningTatum), whose lifestyle gets in the way when he meets a woman worth knowing. It opens on June 29th and has been rated R.

Here are a few of the images, click on the link above to see them all.

 Matt Bomer

 Channing Tatum

Joe Manganiello

Henry Cavill | SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL

A new promotional image for the upcoming Superman - Man Of Steel, starring Henry Cavill has been released by Warner Brothers. Zack Snyder's film is slated to open on June 14th, 2013.


Courtesy of Collider

Luke Evans | THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS 6

A poster for the new installment of The Fast and The Furious was shared today by Collider . We should expect the movie to be released worldwide in the Summer of 2013.

Luke Evans, who recently confirmed that he is indeed part of the cast, seemed quite excited on Twitter:

Luke Evans‏@lukeevansactor

Sweet as!!http://collider.com/superman-man-of-steel-image-fast-furious-6-image/171754/

Also part of the cast are: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Michelle Rodriguez.

Richard Armitage, Luke Evans | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Well it seems like The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which is part one of two Hobbit films, is set to premiere in Wellington, New Zealand in November of 2012 and in the US on  December 14 of the same year! That is indeed great and exciting news for all fans, who have waited for this confirmation for a long time.

Peter Jackson's latest blog video is a treat for me, since Luke Evans is featured in a more individual way, I hope we can catch a glimpse of him in his Bard costume soon.

I would like to say thank you to Mr. Jackson for taking the time to shoot these videos for our benefit, after following his journey to create these movies, I can not help but realize what a task it is to bring to life an epic film as this and The Lord of The Rings earlier.

In that light, it is even more impressive that he finds room for us fans, as I'm sure he realizes how interested we are in anything that has to do with the filming of these movies. Not many directors out there, take time to do something like this and we are truly grateful.